Trials and Tribulation
by xxkizixx
Summary: Sequel to Friends First. When Wright has broken out of the asylum with a band of meteor freaks you'd think that there would be nothing worse for Lois and Clark. But when they have issues of their own, the trouble is just beginning. *Season eight spoilers*
1. When Issues Arise

"Smallville! You are so gunna pay for that!"

Lois Lane, covered head-to-toe in flour, bounded out of the kitchen and into the hallway chasing after a certain farm-boy with a mischievous grin dominating his features. The pair ran into the living room, each situating themselves on either side of the couch, circling slowly. Clark kept in step with Lois, making sure that he was opposite her with the couch between them. In his eyes, safe.

Oh how wrong he was.

Impulsively, Lois pounced over the couch and landed right on top of Clark, straddling him.

"You are in so much trouble." Lois looked down at him, her hazel eyes instantly meeting with his emerald ones.

"It was an accident, the flour just slipped." Clark tried.

Lois raised an eyebrow. "From the other side of the kitchen?"

Clark just grinned, before reaching up to brush some of the white powder off of Lois' cheek. The reporters leaned closer to each other, their lips meeting as the argument was tossed aside. They shifted positions so that they were both sat up, pressing up against each other so that the flour smudged against Clark's dark blue shirt. Their kiss became more heated, and soon the shirt was discarded into some other part of the room. Lois reached down to Clark's belt buckle, but Clark's eyes flew wide open and he broke away by standing up suddenly. Lois slid to the floor with a small thump and looked up at him questionably.

"I just remembered... I have to call Oliver about those murders in Metropolis..." Clark grabbed his shirt and disappeared into the hallway, while Lois fell onto her back, frustrated.

The familiar chords of Whitesnake sounded throughout the room and Lois took out her cellphone to see Chloe's name flashing up on the screen.

"Hey Chlo. What's up?" She tried to sound like her normal self, not wanting to discuss yet another aggravating incident between her and Clark.

"Lois, are you at the farm?"

"Yeah, wh-"

"You have to get outta there now. Get Clark to super-speed you to Oliver's apartment. Don't go anywhere else, don't got to your apartment or even mine. Just get Clark to take you here now. I'll explain more when you get here."

"Chloe, what's go-" The line went dead. "-ing on?" Lois slowly put her phone into her pocket.

"Who was that?" She turned to see Clark behind her, a curious look in his eyes.

She stood up before answering, "Chloe wants you to blur us over to Oliver's apartment. It sounds important."

"Okay, I guess we'd better go then." Clark walked over to Lois and picked her up, not looking directly into her eyes. A rush of wind later, they were in the clock tower and Lois was being released again.

Two blonds stood in the room and they instantly turned when they felt the familiar whoosh of Clark's entrance. "Thank God you two are okay!" Chloe said as she rushed over to them, hugging them simultaneously.

Lois shot her cousin a look. "Chlo, what's going on?"

The reporters waited as an exchange of glances between their friends confirmed that they were going to be told something that they wouldn't like one bit.

"Guys, it's Harry Wright. He's escaped." Oliver began. "And he's got a band of mentally unstable meteor infected criminals to help him."

Clark thought that he knew the answer, but knew that he had to ask. "Help him with what exactly?"

Oliver went over to his desk and got a tattered, leather-bound, notebook. Clark took it from him and wiped away some of the dust that covered its surface. Blocked across its front were thick biro letters spelling out eight words that were certainly not good.

**Lois Lane  
Clark Kent**  
**I will have Revenge

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**

**A/N: Okay here's the first chapter of the sequel to _Friends First. _I hope you guys like it. Just so everyone knows, school is back, so updating is really hard at the moment, but I will try my best. Please Review!  
**


	2. Watchtower

_"Guys, it's Harry Wright. He's escaped." Oliver began. "And he's got a band of mentally unstable meteor infected criminals to help him."_

_Clark thought that he knew the answer, but knew that he had to ask. "Help him with what exactly?"_

_Oliver went over to his desk and got a tattered, leather-bound, notebook. Clark took it from him and wiped away some of the dust that covered its surface. Blocked across its front were thick biro letters spelling out eight words that were certainly not good._

_**Lois Lane  
Clark Kent**  
_**_I will have Revenge_

* * *

**

Lois and Clark stared. Wright, free? And with a band of criminals with super-powers to help him? It didn't look good. In spite of the morning's events, Clark soothed his thoughts by encircling an arm around Lois' waist. The contact helped his thoughts to slow, making him think only twice as fast as he would normally.

"What's the plan?"

Oliver and Chloe looked at each other. "Well, we know that Wright is planning something. Something huge, dangerous and with a rather unfortunate end for the both of you. And he has a lot of people who you..." Chloe looked at Clark, "...put in the asylum. And-"

"We think that you should go into hiding." Oliver butted in, glancing at his watch and at the precious seconds passing by without them acting.

"Hide?" Lois shook her head. "But wouldn't that be the worst thing we could do? Waiting around like sitting ducks while Wright gets the upper hand?"

"We didn't say that you'd be doing nothing. You'd be helping. You just wouldn't let Wright know that. We can't afford to have a repeat of last time, only without the life-saving crystal this time around." Chloe's eyes misted over, and Lois saw the sadness in her eyes. Every time her near-death was mentioned she saw the sadness creep into her cousin's gaze. It was heart-breaking. Especially after Jimmy's death only a few months previously.

Lois looked at Clark and saw that he had noticed the look in Chloe's eyes too. They had to do it.

"Okay, we'll do whatever you say." They both noted on the relief over the blonde's face. "But we need a place to stay that isn't obvious. We can't stay at the farm."

"Oh don't worry about that, we've got it covered."

As they all stepped out of the most inconspicuous, average, every-day, typical American car ever, Lois and Clark looked up at the building that hung overhead. To say that it was tall would be an understatement. It was the highest building in the city, but it was just one of those places that was magnificently overlooked. Nobody asked questions, it was just... there.

Inside, was a lot of technical equipment and a large stained-glass window, out of which you could see the whole north side of the city. The place was huge, and it left both Clark and Lois in awe.

"Welcome to Watchtower."

Oliver smiled at the stupid looks on his friend's faces, their mouths open wide and flapping in a fish-like manner. "Guys, when you're done with... whatever you two are doing, you're bags are there. I sent Bart over to grab your things."

Lois' eyes widened at the thought of a guy she barely knew rumaging through her drawers.

"Don't worry, I sent Dinah with him. She dealt with all of your... delicates, Lois."

She rolled her eyes, disguising her relief.

"Lo, you wanna go unpack?" Chloe suggested, her voice innocent but her look suggesting that there was more to the story. Chloe wanted to talk to her. True, they hadn't talked much since Jimmy's funeral. They had had lots of days out and 'cousin' time since, but the conversation had been more phatic and distracting for Chloe's sake. They hadn't had their usual sister-like chats, which meant that they had a lot to talk about. Though Chloe did seem to be more eager, which could mean that she had something to tell Lois. Something that was exciting her, or agitating, Lois couldn't be sure which.

The girls went down a floor and into the space which had a number of doors that lead to different areas: the kitchen, living room, bedrooms and bathrooms. Taking the furthermost door on the right, they walked into Lois and Clark's bedroom.

"There's only one bedroom?" Lois asked, looking around uncertainly.

"Well there's another one, but it's mine." Chloe stated, eyes searching her cousin's for the issue.

"You live here?"

"Yeah. But back to what you were saying, why do you need another bedroom? Is everything okay with you and Clark?"

Lois sunk onto the bed, face reddening and looking into her hands. "Yeah everything's great."

"But..." Chloe sat next to Lois, waiting for her to go on.

"It's just..." Lois took a breath. "...there have been issues."

The blonde turned. "Issues?"

"Issues."

"Issues like alien issues? Or Clark issues?"

"Well," Lois began, "I don't really know. He won't talk about it. He just avoids the subject completely."

"What issues are we talking about here? Is he lying to you? Have you had a fight?"

"No, it's nothing like that. It's just, that we haven't, I mean, he won't, well, you know..." Lois looked at Chloe, feeling more than embarassed.

"Had sex?"

Lois continued, "Yeah."

Chloe let out a breath she didn't know that she'd been holding. "Well you've only been going out, what? Six months?"

"Eight." Lois stated.

"What?"

"We've been dating for eight months." Lois stated slowly.

"Well that's not too long. And I know you're used to faster relationships, but this is Clark."

Lois sighed. "Chlo, I know that this is Clark. And the fact that we haven't slept together yet doesn't bother me. Well, it wouldn't if I thought that he wasn't ready. I can tell that he's ready and I know that he wants to. But every time we've gotten close to getting there, he's looked at me straight in the eyes and ran as far away as possible. Oh, and then spurted these lame excuses. 'I need to feed the dog. We're out of cheese. I forgot to return that video I borrowed.' Who even watches videos anymore?" Lois slowed, looking down. "It's just that. Each time he goes off with one of those excuses, or scrambles away from me like I've got kryptonite or something, all I can think is that I'm not Lana. I'm not the girl he first fell in love with and did all these things with. I'm not Miss Sweet Vanilla. I'm the exact opposite. And I can't help but think..." She looked up at Chloe, eyes watering. "...that he wishes that I was her."

"Oh, Lo..." Chloe started, but never finished as Oliver and Clark burst through the door.

Lois abruptly stood up and brushed past the guys, out of the door. Chloe could only stare after her. She needed to be alone.

"Chloe, what's wrong with Lois? Is she okay?" Chloe glared at him, wishing to dear God that he would realize the mistakes he was making. The same mistakes he had made with Lana. The same mistakes that sent her to Lex and down the path of no return. The only difference was that it was Lois under fire this time. A Lois that had been forced to outlive any other guy she knows of, making Clark the only choice of man she had.

"Chloe, what were you two talking about?" Clark was still firing questions, but Chloe needed to see her cousin.

"Don't worry about it Clark."

Chloe followered her cousin's footsteps and went out of the bedroom.

"What was up with them?" Clark asked.

Oliver shrugged his shoulders. "They're women, like I'm supposed to know."

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**A/N: Sorry for taking so long guys, but my laptop's broken. But I hope this longer chapter makes you a little less annoyed. I'll try to update soon! ^_^**

**Just a little message from my friend. She wants all UK fanfiction users to check out this site, '' Please have a read! Thank you!**


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